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Stop Nuclear Missile Test or No iPods for You

Luxury Goods "Made in USA" will soon disappear from the North Korean stores.

The Bush administration has come with with a creative plan to force Nuclear Korea give up its secret nuclear weapons program - they are banning the supply of all luxury goods that are enjoyed by President Kim Jong Il.

The list includes iPods, Plasma TV sets, French cognac, Rolex watches, Johnny Walker Scotch whisky, Mercedes, BMW and Cadillac cars, Harley Davidson motorcycles and more.

Some call this the iPod Nuclear Weapon Effect but there's a great business opportunity here for non-US brands (especially China) to make inroads into Pyongyang. Am not sure if the gray market is influential in North Korea, then the iPod ban would be practically ineffective. (Microsoft is anyway not shipping Zune outside US yet).

Also, prohibiting export of Western goods to North Korea could be a bad thing since these items indirectly promote the American culture among their "suppressed" youth which could be beneficial for America itself in the long run.

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